Aug. 13, 2016
Vanderbilt staged the team’s first scrimmage of the season on Saturday morning inside Vanderbilt Stadium under overcast skies and much cooler temperatures than earlier in the week.
“Overall, special teams and offense it was pretty solid,” head coach Derek Mason said following the 64-play scrimmage. “It was a good day for us on both sides of the ball.”
The team’s first team offense squared off against the Commodores’ second defensive unit early in the scrimmage with the defensive first team going against the second team offense. The Dores’ first team offense put points on the scoreboard early with a Ralph Webb 40-yard run setting up a 23-yard Tommy Openshaw field goal. The first offense found the end zone on their next drive with Khari Blasingame making a nice cut on a counter run to take it in from 15 yards out and cap a 65-yard scoring drive.
The first team defense was tough throughout the day and proved it in the first showdown against the first team offense in the red zone, forcing a quick three-and-out thanks to big plays from Tre Herndon and Nigel Bowden. Herndon broke up a pass on first down with a big hit and Bowden followed with his own pass break up on third down, tipping a Kyle Shurmur pass away that would have picked up first down yardage.
Wade Freebeck led the second team offense to points against the second team defense inside the red zone. Freebeck hooked up with freshman Donaven Tennyson for 15 yards before the drive stalled and Hayden Lekacz connected on a 25-yard field goal.
The Commodores will not return to the practice field until Monday afternoon for the team’s 12th practice of training camp.
Dore Jam tomorrow
Vanderbilt’s annual Dore Jam event is set for tomorrow inside the team’s indoor practice facility from 2-4 p.m. Fans can meet members of the team, get autographs and purchase single-game tickets to five of the Dores’ home games this season.
Drive summary from Saturday
Drive 1 – Starting at the 35-yard line, the Commodore offense opens impressively, with Wade Freebeck (Jr., QB) finding Sam Dobbs (So., TE) on the right sideline for 12 yards. After the first down throw, the defense stiffens, with consecutive rushes by Dallas Rivers (Jr., RB) netting two yards. On third down, Adam Butler (Sr., DL) and Dare Odeyingbo (So., LB) force a punting situation by sacking Freebeck. Odeyingbo was in on three tackles during the possession.
Drive 2 – The defense forces a three-and-out after Trent Sherfield (Jr., WR) goes eight yards around end on first down. On consecutive plays, Rivers is limited to no gain by Torey Agee (Sr., DL) and Emmanuel Smith (Jr., safety) and a one-yard loss by Odeyingbo.
Drive 3 – The offense goes three-and-out for a second straight possession. After Ja’karri Thomas (Sr., ILB) stuffs Khari Blasingame (R-So., RB) for a three-yard loss, and Blasingame is gang-tackled for no gain on second down, an eight-yard scramble by Kyle Shurmur (So., QB) fails to produce a first down.
Drive 4 – Shurmur leads the first effective offensive possession. The unit gets an explosive play on first down, with Ralph Webb (Jr., RB) going 40 yards on a pitch play to the left. Two more big plays — a 13-yard pass to Sherfield and Webb’s 11-yard carry off right guard — gets the offense to the nine-yard line. The defense stops consecutive rushes Kalija Lipscomb (Fr., WR), Webb and Trey Ellis (Jr., WR) for a combined two yards, forcing Tommy Openshaw (Jr., PK) to make a 23-yard field goal.
Drive 5 – The defense forces another three-and-out, with Oren Burks (R-Jr., Star) producing heavy pressure on second- and third-down pass attempts.
Drive 6 – After Landon Stokes (R-Jr., OLB) stops Crawford for one yard and Deuce Wallace (Fr., QB) can’t connect on a deep route to Kyle Anderton (So., TE), Wallace gets a first down by scrambling for 10 yards. The drive stalls with Burks and Torren McGaster (Sr., CB) making impressive tackles.
Drive 7 – Shurmur and Freebeck direct the lone touchdown drive for the offense. After a short rush and pass deflection from Jonathan Wynn (R-Jr., DE), Shurmur gives way to Freebeck after scrambling 20 yards for a first down. Freebeck quickly connects with Ellis for 14 yards and Nathan Marcus (R-Jr., TE) for six yards to get a first down at the 10-yard line. After a penalty, Blasingame produces a powerful 15-yard touchdown run off left guard.
Drive 8 – The defense forces a long field goal on this live contact possession starting at the 20-yard line. The drive starts with a holding penalty that negates one of the top hits of the day — Tre Herndon (Jr., CB) nailing Donaven Tennyson (Fr., WR) on a short pass. After a short rush from Rivers, the defense forces fourth down on an incomplete pass under heavy pressure. Openshaw splits the uprights from 33 yards.
Drive 9 – Two rushes from Crawford gets the offense inside the 10-yard line, but Shurmur and Jared Pinkney fail to hook up on a first-down pass. After a three-yard rush by Josh Crawford (So., RB), Shurmur finds Bailey McElwain (Fr., FB) in the flat for little yardage due to a physical hit from McGaster. Hayden Lekacz converts the field goal from 22 yards out
Drive 10 – Starting at the 20-yard line, the offense led by freshman QB Deuce Wallace gets inside the 10-yard line on a nine-yard completion to Jaire George (R-Fr., RB). The defense stiffens after the first down by stopping a rush for no gain and getting a defended pass by Arnold Tarpley (Jr., safety) and Joejuan Williams (Fr., CB) in the corner of the end zone.